PHILADELPHIA -- Three-dimensional digital imaging has come to dentistry.

It offers patients dental computerized tomography scans that are convenient, less costly and have a low level of radiation, reported WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.

The new technology produces 3-D images that let dentists examine every fraction of an inch of their patient's oral anatomy.

Joan Byrnes tried out the new technology. In just 20 seconds, the i-CAT Cone Beam 3-D Dental Imaging System made a complete revolution around Byrnes' head, providing her dentist with a CT scan.

"In our case, we want to look for how much bone volume we have to put a dental implant into," said Dr. Edward Marcus, a periodontist in Yardley, Pa.

Marcus said a dentist sometimes needs a CT scan before putting in implants, and doing it in the dentist's office is quicker and more convenient. The cost is also dramatically less.

"It's $300 for this type of scan," Marcus said.

Also, there is a lot less radiation.

"This i-CAT scanner gives the amount of radiation of one-half of a set of dental X-rays, which is between 25 and 50 times lower than a similar image done at a hospital-based unit," Marcus said.

The software with the i-CAT enables the dentist to manipulate the images, measure the bone and even look at the bone from the inside of your head.

The technology can also be used with orthodontics or with jaw problems, such as TMJ. It can find injuries to the teeth and potentially dangerous problems.

Marcus found a calcification in one patient's salivary gland.

The hospital sent another patient in with two loose teeth, but the i-CAT found more.

"This line is a fracture right through the jaw," Marcus said.

One girl who came in had injured her front tooth. Regular X-rays showed a root canal could save it. But the i-CAT scan enabled the dentist to see that the fracture was much more severe and the tooth could not be saved, so they were able to avoid putting the patient through a lot of unnecessary dental work.